An alumni association with an enviable strength of about 25,000 members, that includes engineers, businessmen, doctors, advocates and other professionals, the proposal is to recognize the problems faced by the villages with the help of district collectors and then progress accordingly with a plan of action.
“The state government has been promoting village adoption scheme and already public representatives, officials, celebrities and other important personalities have decided to adopt backward villages in the state and develop them. Our Osmanians will also take part in the programme and serve the state. The programme will begin from next month itself,” Osmania University Centenary Celebrations Alumni Committee chairman Anantula Shyam Mohan told TOI.
While infrastructure facilities like proper schools or hospital buildings is the need of the hour for some villages, some require to be supplied with medical care and attention. “A high-level committee will be constituted with some expert members on various issues such as doctors, engineers and businessmen to interact with officials and zero in on issues pertaining to the specific village and solve them,” Shyam Mohan added.
Close to 8,700 gram panchayats come under the jurisdiction of Telangana, where only about 2,500 gram panchayats have been adopted by public representatives, according to TOI. The alumni members belonging to particular villages that fall under the chosen 100, also plan on taking up programmes such as medical camps and awareness on foreign jobs, benefiting the rural landscape of the state.
The 100-year-old university is known to have produced some of the many brilliant minds in the country that include former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, former Lok Sabha speaker Shivraj Patil, distinguished film personalities like Shyam Benegal, and former RBI governor YV Reddy.
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Back when we were kids, a trip to the zoo was like a field day to quench our curious little minds.
As we grew up, zoo trips brought many of us to realise the deplorable conditions that these animals were often left in.
Ever felt like making the lives better for these animals but didn’t know how to?
A Bengal White Tiger in Delhi Zoo. Source: Wikimedia.
With plans of launching an animal adoption scheme, the National Zoological Park in New Delhi is paving the way for animal lovers to go an extra mile for these animals.
The initiative was motioned after a suggestion made by Environment Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan a couple of weeks back.
“We are exploring various options to start an animal adoption scheme at the Delhi Zoo. We would launch the scheme once we finalise the modalities,” Renu Singh, director of the National Zoological Park, told HT.
So the scheme will allow you to choose an animal and ‘adopt’ it.
By adopting the animal, you take care of the funds that will be used by the zoo authorities to buy food and medicines for them, and to meet general maintenance expenditures.
Some of the added perks will include having your name displayed on the enclosure, an adoption certificate as well as free entry to the zoo for an entire year. And the best part is, you get to choose a name for your animal and even celebrate their birthday in the zoo premises.
Reportedly, you can can also be exempted from Income Tax under section 80 (G) of the Income-Tax Act in some special cases.
Though the initiative plans on covering all the animals in the zoo, the authorities are vouching for large animals like tigers, lions and elephants in the scheme, as they require maximum expenditure.
Many such initiatives have already been put to practice by zoos like Lucknow Zoo, Patna Zoo, Alipore Zoo in Kolkata, Mysore Zoo and Nandankanan in Odisha few years back.
“But there is a difference between the Delhi zoo and other zoos in the country. While the Delhi Zoo is the only zoo in the country directly run by the Union ministry, other zoos are managed by their respective state governments. Most of the other zoos that have launched adoption schemes are registered societies and can accept money in the adoption scheme. We can’t,” said Renu.
The zoo authorities in Delhi are currently doing their research on the various adoption schemes launched by zoos in the country as well as the ones abroad, in order to come up with a palpable scheme.
“It won’t be like other zoos as we can’t accept money directly. For that we have to register the zoo as a society, which would be a long and cumbersome process. So we are planning it differently and that is why we are exploring options,” she added.
The Delhi Zoo is currently planning a birthday bash for its animals. A white tiger named Vijay will be the first amid the pack that will have its first birthday party celebrated on July 21.
You can write to the National Zoological Park at nzpnewdelhi@gmail.com or call them on (011)24359825 or (011)24358500.
Adoption conjures a mix of emotions. For some, it may seem as a quick remedy to bring a child into the house, and for others, an act of nobility. Some think of adoption as ‘Plan B’ while others view it as an opportunity to complete the family without getting into the travails of pregnancy yet again. Whatever be the driver, most parents carry an air of caution, loss, suspicion, grief and surprise around adoption.
Unlike law, religion, science, taxation, relations, marriage, careers and whole lot of domains prescribed at school and college education, adoption has completely escaped the attention of our educators. It is not part of any curriculum; there are no festivals dedicated to it; it is not enshrined in any political party’s manifesto and there are hardly any family or public conversations around it.
Whatever little people understand of adoption is largely fed through Bollywood and fiction in melodramatic overtones.
Here are 10 things you need to know about adoption to gain an objective understanding about it and to present the same to others with little knowledge about it:
1.Anyone can adopt: Adoption is not just the last recourse of couples affected by infertility. Families are increasingly choosing to adopt a child, irrespective of their need or ability to reproduce one. Many single parents also opt for adoption. The law does not differentiate between rural, urban, rich, poor, single, married or divorced status of the parent. It does not discriminate on the basis of religion or social status either. You don’t have to prove if you’re infertile, and you don’t have to give a reason as to why you want to adopt. Just be confident and rest assured that millions have tread this path, and that there is a support system available, should you need help.
2. Choose a legal and safe option: India has two perfectly legal options of adopting a child. The old method was to adopt a child under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (HAMA), 1956, where only Hindus could adopt a child. There are several risks of adopting under HAMA. It must be understood that adoption under HAMA is not illegal. Just that HAMA being an old law, is not designed to support mass scale adoptions between strangers.
The second option is to register with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) on their website http://www.cara.nic.in, where the entire process is online. You will be assigned a Unique All India Seniority, which does not change across the adoption cycle.
Soon after registration, your home study will be conducted by a Social Worker. Once your home study is approved and uploaded, you become eligible to receive a referral.
3. Yes, there is wait: Currently there are about 16,000 parents registered for adoption with CARA, with only less than 2,000 children. More than half of these children have a special need, leaving just about 400 children below two years of age who are legally free for adoption. This has resulted in a wait for about 15-18 months for getting your first referral. The wait time varies, and could be shorter for different preferences according to age, gender, state of the child.
4. Counselling is must: Even if you are aware of the overall process, it is a good idea to seek counselling in adoption. There are NGOs and adoption support groups that offer counselling. It helps you prepare for adoption, overcome the feeling of loss, connects you with the child and with other families trying to adopt. Genuine advice can help you decide which category to adopt from – immediate placement category, special need group, older children – from anywhere in India or from specific states.
Each parent is different and capable of supporting a different kind of child.
You may be able to save a few months of your wait by adopting a child that might have special needs. A good counsellor can suggest good books and videos and connect you with families, lawyers, doctors etc. and engage you in events associated with adoption.
6. Accept the child: Do not judge a child by his/herappearance. You’ll only increase the wait and delay the happy times in seeking multiple profiles. Adoption is not about ‘matching’ a child. It is about accepting one.
7. Refrain from extra medical tests: Each child that has been referred to you has been medically examined and the medical reports are available along with the referral. These reports are valid for 6 months. Don’t be tempted to conduct extra medical tests, unless it’s really necessary. Remember, a child loses up to 5% of his/her blood every time a new set of parents conducts their tests (blood test is the most basic requirement, in addition to other tests) and needs two weeks to recuperate the loss. Repeated tests by parents, sometimes week after week, cause extreme pain, trauma and setback to the child’s development. Even a perfectly healthy child may become sick with repeated exposure to tests, radiation, diagnostics and strain.
8. Talk about adoption: Contrary to what you see in films, it is absolute necessary to share you decision to adopt a child. It is your child’s right to be aware of his/her identity and it helps them discover their true potential. If you choose not to tell them, chances are they’ll discover on their own or through someone else, and they might not be able to process that information.
You will also come across several instances where you will have to share that your child was adopted, especially with the pediatrician. Make adoption a positive experience, rather than an undesirable one.
9. Accept the truth: There are certain things you need to accept as a parent, in order to experience joy and bliss through adoption. Your child indeed has birth parents. Refer to them with respect, especially during the growing up years of the child. Your child should never feel that his/her parents were incapable of taking care of him/her.
It’s possible that the child will have a different personality than yours. Allow him/her to realise his/her true potential. Do not thrust your wishes – moral, academic or emotional – on your child. Your child may live in the shadow of being different from you. Encourage the feeling of difference, rather than trying to curb it or ignore it.
10. Embrace Positive Adoption Language: Adoption is just another way of building a family. You need to make a conscious effort to make it a positive experience. Labelling the child as an ‘adopted’ child, comparing it with ‘real’ children, referring to adoption as ‘Plan B’ are a result of conditioning. Make no big deal about adoption. Share your values, beliefs and underlying message of humanity and love through adoption. Make your child feel comfortable with adoption and do not shy away from correcting, educating or sensitising the uninitiated folks when confronted with uncomfortable situations. Prepare your children to expect these situations and train them to deal with such occasions through Positive Adoption Language (PAL).
Life is a journey. Each one of us is blessed uniquely. Adoption may be the opportunity to rediscover ourselves, our hidden potentials and our ability to love and connect with another soul. And when in doubt, always keep the child’s best interest above everything else.
About the author: Avinash Kumar is a parent-in-adoption, member of the CARA Steering Committee, a counsellor at CARA and also the founder of Families of Joy Foundation NGO.
Every year, November is recognised as adoption awareness month. It is especially important for India because India has 11 million abandoned children but fewer than 4,000 adoptions per year. This requires a twofold solution. First, India’s laws and their implementation need to keep improving to ensure that all vulnerable children come into the legal adoption pool, and second, more and more Indians need to be open to the idea of adoption so that every child awaiting adoption finds a home.
Adoption is not new to the Indian context. Our religion, history, and culture are ripe with examples of positive and loving adoptions, yet the act is still associated with infertility and seen by many as the last choice. However, this does not represent all adoptive families. For many families, adoption is the first choice. This November, I am sharing the stories of three families, including mine, who have chosen adoption as the primary path to parenthood.
My husband and I adopted our daughters when they were 8 months old and 3-½ years old respectively. With each adoption, we were overjoyed about our daughter coming home, and their age was not a primary concern for us. Unfortunately, prospective parents considering adoption often get fixated on this point and ask me if it was tough adopting an “older” child.
This question makes me uncomfortable because labelling young children “older” just because they are not infants is incorrect and tragic — this mindset in the adoption framework means that as soon as a child turns 2 years old, her/his chances of adoption drop significantly. It is as joyful to adopt a young child as it is to adopt a baby. To my amazement, I realised that it was easier for my 3-1/2-year-old daughter to bond because she was waiting for a family and was keen to feel safe and loved. The bonding process happened within a few weeks and was much faster than I had anticipated.
Before I embarked on the adoption journey, a good friend told me that I should be prepared for the fact that the child may be malnourished or show other physical symptoms of institutional living, and that all of it changes very quickly once the child comes home. I experienced this with both my daughters. Within a few weeks after coming home, they looked healthier and started becoming stronger. What I didn’t expect was how their personalities transformed. Each of them was described as a shy, quiet child by the children’s shelters and they were serious, watchful kids when they came home. However, they soon evolved into funny, loud, strong-willed and active girls. It was almost as if their real self-had been hiding until they found a family.
Kavita and Himanshu adopted their daughter when she was 15 months old.
They specifically wanted to adopt a child with Down syndrome because they believed that no child should be left alone without a family, even those who require extra care. It was easy for them to make a decision, but dealing with family reactions was a completely separate matter.
Their parents were hesitant about the idea of adoption itself, but adopting a child with Down syndrome was unimaginable. Kavita and Himanshu were told that they were taking a risk because a child with Down syndrome will be unable to support them when they get old, but they proceeded with the process, against all opposition. There is no waiting time in India for parents who choose to adopt a child with special needs, so they soon found their baby, a lovely girl in Bhopal who was abandoned when she was 6 months old. Their first meeting with her is one of the most memorable moments of their life when they held the tiny baby with a gorgeous smile and beautiful eyes.
Their daughter had not received any early intervention, leading to developmental delays and lack of gross and fine motor skills, but with physiotherapy and occupational therapy, she is showing tremendous progress. Everyone who meets Kavita and Himanshu thinks they are an extraordinary couple, but they feel that providing their daughter a good environment and happy life is the least they can do.
Ayesha* and Varun* are parents to their 3-year-old biological son and are choosing to adopt their second child, a daughter. They were keen to adopt for several years and kicked off the adoption process as soon as they felt that their son was old enough to understand the concept of a sibling. They are currently waiting to be matched with their daughter and are determined to raise both their children with lots of love and equal opportunities.
Ayesha and Varun have received support for their decision but have also faced some misinformed questions about adoption. Ayesha has been asked whether she will love both children equally, whether she is concerned about the adoption impacting her son, and what if the adopted child fights with her son.
Ayesha is a strong woman, and has been able to tackle these questions with ease.
Her standard reply starts with “do you ask this question to parents with two biological children?” Then she explains that yes, she will love both children equally because she will be their mother irrespective of whether she has given birth or adopted.
She is looking forward to the positive impact of adoption on her son because it is like giving birth to another child where she will make sure that her son understands the concept of family and sharing, and is part of all the excitement and preparations. Lastly, she believes that the upbringing that she and her husband will give their children will determine how they choose to behave with each other. Ayesha touches an obvious truth when she says, “When one cannot guarantee perfection and a life sans of obstacles with a family you inherit through your bloodline, why do these questions and predicaments arise when we talk about adoption.”
Adoption is as fortunate a connection between parents and children as birth or any other path to parenthood. For the sake of the 11 million children in India waiting for a mother and a father, we need to start recognising adoption as the happy and positive choice that it is.
*Names changed because Ayesha and Varun would like to maintain some privacy until their daughter comes home. **The author is an adoption activist who has been in the weeds of the Indian adoption system, and is working to make adoption more mainstream in India.
More than 50 percent of children awaiting adoption in India fall into the ‘special needs’ category, but it is also the category with the least number of adoptions within India. One of the reasons for this gap is a lack of understanding of special needs and the adoption process. Slowly though, more people are becoming aware that children with special needs grow beautifully and thrive in a loving and supportive home environment. If you are considering or just curious about adopting a child with special needs, here is everything you need to know.
The adoption process in India puts children into two categories — normal needs and special needs — where special needs are the catch-all for all children except those who have perfect health. Even children with minor health issues, correctable health issues, health conditions that can be easily managed or have no bearing on the quality of life also get categorised as special needs children.
Many of the children in the special needs category just need the necessary medical diagnosis and support to become healthy and active, but this support is not available to them unless they get adopted into a family.
There is a separate category for children with special needs, because of the expectations of some prospective adoptive parents. Adoption agencies need to categorise the children carefully. If prospective parents want a ‘normal’ child but get the referral of a child who may have ‘special needs’, they can reject the child and file a complaint with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). This means that the child loses valuable time during which another loving family could have adopted him/her.
The adoption process is the same for all children irrespective of their category —
Prospective parents register with the centralised authority in India and indicate their preference about child’s gender, age, location, and health. Parents who are willing to adopt children with special needs can make the appropriate selection under ‘health’.
After a social worker completes the home study process, which evaluates parents’ willingness and capacity to adopt, the parents wait for a child to be referred to them. There is no waiting period for parents who want a child with special needs because the number of children available is higher than the number of prospective parents.
There is an additional helpful feature for children with special needs. Even if potential parents select ‘normal’ health as their preference, they can see the list of children with needs who are awaiting adoption. This means that people who were initially unaware of special needs can potentially change their mind and accept a special needs child. (Similarly, there is a list of children available for immediate placement. These are children who have been awaiting adoption for a long time).
After accepting a child, the parents’ bring their child home under a foster care agreement. The adoption agency responsible for the child requests a hearing and the final court order completes the process.
As an adoptive mother of a child with special needs, my most significant discovery has been that all types of special needs get stereotyped as problematic. However, it is more about understanding what the child exactly needs and providing the right support. It’s not any different than raising a child who doesn’t have special needs, whether biological or adopted.
Children respond very positively to a family environment, thus significantly and quickly improving on whichever condition they may have, once they come home.
Whenever I talk to social workers who work in the adoption space, they seem resigned to the idea that children with special needs will either never get adopted or only get adopted by foreigners. This does not reflect kindly on us. Special needs include a wide range of children and many people in India can support most of the requirements in this range. Being open to special needs allows us to accept the love of a child who is as brilliant, unique, and deserving as all children.
(Written by Smriti Gupta)
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About the author: Smriti Gupta is an adoption activist who has been in the weeds of the Indian adoption system and is working to make adoption more mainstream in India.
The case of a 10-year-old rape victim from Chandigarh, impregnated by her uncle, had shocked the nation earlier this year, and also made international headlines. While her parents petitioned for her to be allowed to have an abortion, the Supreme Court rejected the plea since her pregnancy was discovered when she was 30 weeks pregnant, and the abortion would have put her life in danger.
Both the uncles of the girl were sentenced to life imprisonment by a fast-track trial in a special court when they were found guilty.
The police were claiming that the elder uncle had impregnated the child, but a DNA test revealed that in fact, the younger one was the father of the then unborn child.
Picture for representation purpose. Source: Pixabay
On 17 August, the victim gave birth to a baby girl. According to a report by The Hindu, the father of the rape-victim has requested the hospital to keep the pregnancy a secret from the mother, and also asked them to hand over the baby for adoption.
A couple from Maharashtra has now adopted the toddler and promised her a new, loving life. The couple found the baby on the Central Adoption Resource Authority’s website, and it carried all the necessary details of the baby.
The details of the couple are not revealed under a confidentiality clause and also to ensure security to the new-born. However, Hindustan Times reports that the baby has been adopted by a caring and well-to-do family.
While the paperwork to complete the adoption process is still underway, Sangeeta Vardhan, the chairman of the Child Welfare Committee says that the pre-adoption undertaking has been signed and formalities have been completed. She also laid to rest the rumours of a foreign couple adopting the baby.
This is certainly a fresh turn in the life of the newborn. We hope it brings a positive change in the life of its mother as well.
Adoption may start as a decision made by prospective parents, but like all paths to parenthood, it is ultimately about the child.
Irrespective of the reason to adopt, a successful and happy adoption requires that parents put the welfare of the child first, do not treat it as a selection process, and lovingly accept the child that comes into their life.
At the same time, the formal adoption process should be structured in a way that it respects the children awaiting adoption and does not accommodate prospective parents at the cost of treating the children in an unfair manner.
Here are five positive changes from the past year, among many others, that continue the make the adoption process in India more child-centric.
1) Only one child is referred at a time
After prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) complete the required paperwork and home study, they are ready to receive referrals of children awaiting adoption based on the criteria specified by the PAPs.
In the early days of the online centralised adoption process, PAPs could receive multiple child referrals at the same time. This meant that the PAPs could compare children, wrongly amplifying the notion of selecting a child.
Moreover, while the PAPs thought about the referrals (within a time-bound window), the children were blocked and couldn’t be referred to another family.
The process has now been changed to PAPs receiving a referral of only one child at a time, reminding the PAPs that every child is unique and deserving of a family.
Picture for representation only. Source: Pixabay
2) A total of 3 child referrals instead of 6
What if a prospective parent keeps rejecting every child that is referred to them? Earlier, a PAP could receive up to six child referrals; this number has now been cut down to three.
If a PAP does not go ahead with adopting a child after three referrals, they have to do their home study with a social worker again. This allows the social worker to understand why the PAPs rejected all referrals, provides an opportunity to counsel the PAPs, and also ascertain whether the PAPs are ready to adopt a child. This change makes sure that PAPs don’t treat adoption as a way to continually judge or select children.
3) The ‘Immediate Placement’ list
Making the adoption process child-centric not only requires a thoughtful approach but also the willingness to address any issues as they come up. Our society has many biases and illogical notions, and unfortunately, some people carry these over into the adoption process, which results in many children going through the referral cycles but not getting adopted.
To ensure that children get noticed by PAPs, who are also committed, the ‘Immediate Placement’ list was introduced.
The list allows PAPs to see all the children who can be adopted immediately. PAPs who adopt a child from the immediate placement list can bring their child home without any waiting time, whereas PAPs with specific criteria have to wait for a referral as per their position in a wait-list.
This change helps children find parents sooner rather than wait forever in the referral cycles, and it also makes the process faster for those parents who are willing to love a child without rigid preferences.
Picture for representation only. Source: Pixabay
4) Assessment of the parents through a home study report
It is one thing to want a child, but parenting one is an entirely different ball game. In the adoption process, a home study report by a social worker is mandatory for PAPs to become eligible for adopting a child. The home study report, and a questionnaire, now focuses on making PAPs think about and explaining their preparedness for adopting a child, besides just evaluating the PAPs motivation to adopt.
Prospective parents need to explain how they plan to support the child financially and emotionally, how they will introduce the child to their existing children (if any), how they plan to take out time for the child, and so on. This not only helps the social worker make an assessment but helps the parents to ensure that they are putting the need of the child first.
5) Root search even for children under 18 years of age
It is normal for adoptive children to be curious about their past and the circumstances surrounding their adoption. Some children may want to know more about their biological parents.
India follows a closed adoption model, and no information is given to adoptive parents about the child’s biological parents and vice versa. But the adoption system does recognise the rights of the child to know about their history. Hence, adoptees over 18 years of age can apply for a root search to find out any available information. Now children under 18 years of age can also apply for root search jointly with their adoptive parents.
As mindsets broaden and more and more people choose to adopt, we will hopefully become a more child-centric society regarding adoption. In the meantime, it’s good to know that the Indian adoption system is leading the way in protecting the child.
(Written by Smriti Gupta)
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Fondly known as Appa, among the children he takes care of, Parmeshwaran, and his wife Choodamani, have quite a packed daily schedule. Naturally, as taking care of 36 orphans isn’t an easy task. Nambikkai (hope), the couple’s home for children who lost everything in the 2004 tsunami, has been a warm, safe haven for these kids ever since that fateful day, in 2004.
The physical scars of the tsunami might have healed, but the wounds are still fresh for scores of children, who found themselves orphaned.
A tsunami leaves death and destruction in its wake.Representative image only. Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.
Parmeshwaran himself lost all his three children on that fateful day. Contemplating suicide, he and his grief-stricken wife decided to walk around the streets of Nagapattinam, to gauge the extent of the tsunami’s devastation.
They were greeted by grisly sights of bodies strewn all over, with babies wailing near their dead mothers and lost children walking around, looking for their parents. The husband-wife duo held a few children by the hand and took them home. Over the course of the next few weeks, they would return and find more children who needed a home. There has been no looking back, and today, Nambikkai houses 36 kids.
The couple have two sons of their own, but all children are treated the same. The first child they adopted, Saravanan, lost his childhood in 2004, but today says optimistically, to The Quint, “ This is our own home. Just like any regular house where the boys will be more attached to the mother and the girls with the father. It has never been like a home or a hostel.”
Saravanan has an MBA degree, and many of the other children are successful graduates and engineers.
Parmeshwaran sees the tragedy the tsunami caused, as an eye-opener. The couple was devastated after losing their children, but decided to rise above their sorrow and honour their memory, by helping others. Which is why, even though the images of the tsunami and its carnage is fresh in the children’s minds, they are finally at peace.
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28-year-old French artist, Lucie Lefevre, traveled from the beautiful coastal city of Marseille in the South of France, to India five years ago to work with her close friend Karan Talwar, who runs the Harkat art studio in Versova.
Over the years, she continued to visit India to work on projects. But never did Lucie think India would gift her a cherished lifelong companionship.
When Lucie visited India in January 2017, to work on a three-month long art residency. It was at the time she first met Rani.
Lucie & Rani
The pavement outside Harkat studio was Rani’s home. It was love, at first sight, says Lucie speaking to The Better India.
“Words cannot explain our first meeting. Right from the first look, it was magic. It wasn’t just I, was the one who adopted Rani, she adopted me too,” says Lucie.
Lucie was always an animal lover. Looking at the sheer number of strays on Mumbai roads, she always carried some Parle G biscuit packets in her bag to feed them. This was how Lucie started interacting with Rani too.
“Even though Rani was already familiar with people working at Harkat studio, she became close to me. I would pet and feed her every day. I remember how she would curl under my feet while I worked,” Lucie recalls.
Soon Lucie started taking Rani back home to where she lived in Mumbai, at Madh Island.
They lived together for almost two weeks at Lucie’s Madh home. But sadness about the more long-term separation they would have once Lucie went back to France was already sinking in.
Lucie knew she didn’t want to leave Rani behind. So she started researching rules and processes for international adoption. It was at the time she connected with Ganesh, the founder of Mumbai-based NGO Animals Matter to Me (AMTM) and explained the situation to him.
But Rani’s consent mattered to Lucie too. She calls it one of her most special memories with Rani.
“We went to the beach for a walk, where I took Rani on a leash. I looked at her in the eye, unleashed her and said, ‘I’ll give you your freedom. But if you want to stay with me, I’ll leave no stone unturned to take you home with me to France. You really are my dog.’”
When Lucie unleashed, she ran happily. But every time, Lucie called out to her. Rani came right back to her.
“So I told myself, here you are, you have a dog now, and you have to do everything for her,” Lucie says.
And thus began the long process of multiple approvals and paperwork to take Rani to France.
Rani & Pablo sharing their sofa.
“Karan, my friend from Harkat and AMTM handheld me through Rani’s tests and paperwork,” says Lucie.
Rani’s blood test revealed that she didn’t have enough rabies antibodies. So she was entrusted to the care of Dr. Ankita from AMTM, who helped raise the count with treatment. But it was a long process.
Rani who was supposed to arrive in France in August took as long as December. Lucie had to return to France by March and was deeply upset by the separation.
“It was so hard to see her from far away, and I missed my dog so much. But the AMTM staff was so supportive. They sent me pictures of Rani’s process every week.”
Fast forward to 2018; Rani has adapted to the beautiful coastal city of Marseille quickly.
“At the beginning, we bought her a little coat because we were worried about the winter in France. But it appeared she didn’t really need it. She had her own sofa in the flat. We are going to the beach for a walk almost every day. She is always with me during the day, coming to my art studio. She loves the sea even if it’s a bit cold for swimming for now. She will enjoy it more this summer!” says Lucie delightfully.
Rani has found wonderful pet parents in Lucie and her fiancé, Pierre, who is also an animal lover.
Lucie, her fiancé Pierre, Rani and their cat, Pablo.
“Pierre was very supportive and enthusiastic about my decision. He was equally stressed during those difficult months of Rani’s procedures. Ever since her arrival, Rani and Pierre have bonded strongly,” says Lucie.
It isn’t just her fiancé but also her cat, Pablo who has accepted Rani as their new family member.
“I was a little worried because we usually think that cats and dogs don’t really bond together but to my own surprise, Pablo adopted Rani very fast, and they now share the same sofa. You’ll often spot them playing together!” Lucie says.
We got in touch with Ganesh Nayak from AMTM who lauded Lucie’s decision to take Rani to France without caring about her breed.
“Known breeds are preferred over a stray which is a harsh reality. But every dog, no matter what the breed, is always faithful to their master. Lucy spent a good amount of time to bond with Rani. And for them, it was the bond and love they shared that spoke, not Rani’s breed,” says Ganesh.
In her final message to people, Lucie says, “They are so many animals out there who deprived of love. Just give them one chance, they’ll transform your life forever. I can proudly say, we’re all pleased together, and it is Rani who makes our life beautiful.”
Did the story of Rani and Lucie inspire you?
Write to Lucie at lucielefevre@live.com
or https://lucielefevreart.com/
Get in touch with AMTM at +91-7045627850 / +91-9967795660 or email getinvolved@amtmindia.org
An RTI query filed to inquire about the number of adoption cases in every state of India since 2012 has revealed some very positive information. In a country where state and central governments have been continuously fighting against female foeticide and where one regularly reads stories about the abandonment of girl children, it is heartening to see that there is a ray of hope too.
In response to the RTI, the Child Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)—which is the apex body for adoption in India—revealed that about 60% of children adopted in the past six years are girls!
These statistics might immediately solicit the question of whether more girls are being adopted simply because more girls are put up for adoption.
Lieutenant Colonel Deepak Kumar, the CEO of CARA clarified this doubt saying, “It is not that the availability of the girl child is higher but that parents are opting more for a girl child. We give them three choices—they can either opt for a girl or a boy or give no preference. The percentage of those opting specifically for girls to boys would be 55:45.”
Maharashtra is currently leading the charts, recording 353 girl child adoptions out of the total 642 in 2017. The second to follow is Karnataka, with 286 adoptions, and 167 of them were girls.
One of the main factors that led Maharashtra’s high adoption numbers is the availability of adoption centres in the state.
“Maharashtra has the highest number of adoption agencies in the country (60) while other states that are bigger have on an average, 20 adoption agencies,” Kumar told PTI.
The year 2017-18 also showed a rising number of total in-country adoptions in India. Out of the total 3276 children adopted in the country, 1858 were said to be girls while 1418 were boys. These numbers show a slight increase from the year 2016-17 when 3210 children were adopted in India—of which 1915 were girls.
Speaking about the preference of Indian parents to adopt girls, Kumar said, “This reflects that things are changing now. Moreover, people feel that it is easier to manage a girl child than a boy, and that’s another big plus point for the girl child to be considered for adoption.”
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
Featured image for representational purposes. Source.
“Adoption is not about giving a childless couple a kid, but giving a child a family,” says 37-year-old Smriti Gupta.
An adoptive mother herself to two beautiful girls (aged six and five), this Pune-based woman’s parenting ideas are something each of us can learn from. Smriti an electrical engineer, who worked for the Wikimedia Foundation in Europe, returned to India in 2014.
She quit her full-time job last year to dedicate her life to the cause of adoption.
Smriti with her daughter Raghuvanshika
As an adoption campaigner and activist, she works towards creating awareness as well as increasing the number of adoptions in India, with special emphasis on older children and those with special needs. She is also closely associated with Families of Joy Foundation, a community of adoptive parents passionately working to promote adoption.
“India has a huge demand for the adoption of young children, who fall in the so-called ‘normal’ category. But the moment a prospective adoptive child even has a special need, something as minor as an eye-squint or perhaps is older and comes as part of a sibling duo, he/she is unwanted,” she shares.
One of the major outcomes of the work she has been doing with the Families of Joy Foundation since last year is the proposed recommendations she drafted to allow visibility to special needs kids on Central Adoption Resource Authority’s (CARA) adoption list.
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Speaking to The Better India, Smriti highlights a few challenges the adoption ecosystem in India is grappling with. Sharing a real-life case, she says, “In one of our shelters, three years ago, a man who had lost his wife decided to leave his 3-month-old child. He told the shelter authorities that he would remarry and take the child back. Today the kid is three. Either the man never remarried or has forgotten completely about the child. In this case, this young kid who falls in the normal category and has a very high probability of being adopted cannot be adopted, because the parental rights haven’t been terminated.”
It gets worse if the child has even mild disabilities, deformities or diseases or is not of the right age or is too old and so on and so forth.
“Prospective adoptive parents spend almost five years waiting for a ‘normal’ child. Instead of waiting for a young kid to reach the specific age for adoption, why not help them adopt an older kid who genuinely needs a home and a family at that point?” asks Smriti.
She describes her own journey as an adoption counsellor as a rollercoaster ride.
“There are days when you counsel about 20 prospective adoptive couples and none of them decide to go ahead. It is disheartening. But then there are also days when a child gets a home and a new family. You watch how their life changes and that happiness supersedes any of the bad days. One such case was when a family I counselled decided to adopt a five-year-old girl with an amputated leg.” she says proudly.
Speaking about her the challenges many adoptive parents face, she says, “The key to being an adoptive parent in the initial years is to grapple and overcome one’s own fears. Everything else is secondary. When prospective adoptive parents ask me, ‘Am I gonna be okay?’ I tell them, ‘You are fine. You need to worry about the kid.”
She describes how it takes most children weeks or sometimes months to settle down. “Many kids at a tender age have witnessed harsh realities that leave an impact. They are anxious after they are suddenly transported to a new place among new people and told, ‘now this is your family’. And these initial weeks and months are not only full of turmoil for the kid, but also for the parents. You have gathered all the strength, bravery and patience you possess and constantly tell yourself that ‘It is going to be okay.’”
Another sensitive area that Smriti explores is whether or not adoptive parents should speak to their kids about it when they grow up.
“While my younger daughter has no recollection, my older daughter remembers that she came from someplace (shelter) and had many questions. We speak about it openly. She is always delighted when I tell her how it took us so much time to find her and therefore how special she is to us. She is six now and thinks all kids come from somewhere before they find their families. As she grows older and questions of ‘how babies are born’ come my way, I intend on telling her that she was born to another mom. But perhaps they felt she had to go to a second mom.”
In many cases, adoptive parents deny their children the right to know about their birth parents fearing the child may want to trace them. Smriti feels these thoughts are sometimes based on uninformed and unjustified fears.
“Personally, I think every kid has the right to know about their biological parents. You as a parent need to understand that this curiosity doesn’t mean they will abandon you.”
In her message to adoptive parents, Smriti says, “Introspect why you want to adopt, build a blinding self-confidence that you can do it and commit your life to this child. You will change his/her life. In the process, they will change yours too.”
This Mother’s Day, join Seven Seas and TheBetterIndia, and be a part of spreading the gift of love to hundreds of children across India!
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Jeeja Ghosh from Kolkata is affected with cerebral palsy and has battled through many obstacles in her life, but no victory compared to the day when baby Bhujungu walked into her life.
The 48-year-old woman had dreamed of being a mother since she got married to her husband, Bappaditya Nag, in 2013, but given her medical condition, the possibility that a person with a neurological disability would be able to adopt a child seemed very bleak.
However, the Ballygunge resident, who had already broken the glass ceiling and set a precedent for the differently-abled community by earning her MA degree and entering wedlock, was not one to be deterred. Unperturbed about what the consequences could be, Jeeja and Bappaditya went ahead and in 2016, signed up to adopt a child.
Two years later, a five-month-old baby would prove to change the lives of the couple and make Jeeja probably the first person with congenital cerebral palsy in the country, to become an adoptive mother.
Bhujungu or Sonai, as the child is lovingly called at her new home, was born in January this year and abandoned at a hospital in Keonjhar, Odisha. Through a specialised agency project at the Self-Realisation Mission (SRM), she was put up for adoption, and when Jeeja and Nag saw her for the first time, it became a moment they would never forget.
However, despite the many efforts they made to bring the baby home, their journey was full of obstacles. Even though the couple had received full clearance from a gynaecologist, Jeeja faced intrusive queries over her ability to be a responsible caregiver in front of the adoption committee on multiple occasions, who were apprehensive about her ‘mental disease’ and communication skills.
However, Jeeja and Nag refused to give up, and after multiple emails and reminders, they brought the issue to the notice of Dr Sadaf Nazneen, a Consultant (eastern region) with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).
“It needs to be checked whether the couple is emotionally, physically and financially suitable to adopt a child. This was the first case where a parent with cerebral palsy was keen on adoption. It will remain as a reference point for other such applications in future. Some questions might have seemed uncomfortable, but they were perhaps asked to judge the suitability of the family adopting the baby,” Dr Nazneen said to The Times of India.
Finally, after a long struggle, the resilient and determined couple, welcomed baby Bhujungu to their ninth-floor flat at the Saptaparni complex on Thursday last week. The overjoyed new parents agree that life could not be any better for them.
This landmark moment gives hope to countless people across the country, who are afflicted with different medical conditions and have nursed the desire of starting a family of their own, but couldn’t do so until now.
“Advait is a state where two entities are not different. They are part of each other. Advaita is the female version of Advait. My daughter and I are one entity.”
For Pune-based Amita Marathe, a single mother, her daughter’s name mirrors the reality of her life and the bond she shares with her.
Life took a dramatic turn for her in 2012, when as a native of Maharashtra’s Sangli district, she registered with the Child Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) at Sofosh.
Coming from a society where child adoption and being a single woman after a certain age was frowned upon, she was surprised when her parents supported and even respected her decision.
Amita Marathe from Pune adopted a baby girl in 2013
Speaking to The Better India about her decision, the 42-year-old says,
I never wanted to get married, but I always wanted my own child. Among all options, I found adoption to be the best. My parents and sister stood like a rock throughout the process.
Of course, as parents, they were concerned if she would be able to raise a child alone. She elaborates, “They were worried about how I would manage my career and daughter, considering how demanding the two roles are. To an extent, even I had the same concerns, but I believed in myself and took the plunge.”
Amita, an MBA in Finance, was at the peak of her career at the time. So, she worked hard and significantly improved her financial condition.
Finally, on a sunny day in August 2013, a phone rang, inviting her to a child care centre in Pune. In her application, she had asked for a girl child and was ready to take home a daughter.
Advaita had a heart defect that is fixed now
Alas, life had other plans!
None of the girls in her list were available that day, “It was destiny,” she says.
When the person-in-charge told me about a five-month girl who was also put up for adoption, I had my reservations. Her condition was not the issue, but her age was. I wanted a child who was a year old at least so that I could also balance my career.
But all her apprehensions disappeared as soon as she laid eyes on the baby. She had “majestic” eyes.
It was love at first sight. The moment I saw her, I knew she was the one. Bringing her home was the happiest day of my life, she says.
She named the toddler Advaita and gave her the best medication available in Pune. “The doctors said that a surgery could be done only after she weighed 16 kilos, which would take some time.”
When Amita held Advaita for the first time
Amita’s career took a back seat, and for the next three years, Advaita was her only priority.
Love and care that were hitherto unimaginable, poured from her. Before Advaita turned one, they witnessed a miracle. “With the right medications and care, her defective heart was fixed. She is now hail and hearty.”
When she was a little over one, Amita decided to tell her about the adoption and how her family was different.
I am proud of my status and my decision. I wanted her to know the truth and be prepared for the questions that will come to her when she grows up. In fact, there was an incident when she lied about having a father, she says.
She continues, “I want my daughter to know that having a single parent does not mean that her family is incomplete. I want her to stand up against all the mocking, and proudly declare that she was raised by a single mother.”
Amita’s family was a pillar at every step
Through stories and pictures, Amita managed to reveal the truth with ease. While telling her the stories, she was very particular about two things, “I didn’t want our relationship to be labelled a certain way or ever make her feel unwanted. Secondly, I wanted her to respect her birth mother.”
Though Advaita is only a child, she processed the information in no time and happily accepted both her mothers. “The process was emotionally exhausting. I was worried if she would react negatively. But my child is more mature than I imagined.”
Advaita is an emerging artist, Amita says proudly. She loves drawing and is very focused on whatever activity she takes up. She can be mischievous, yet understanding, “a perfect blend of a daughter and a friend”.
The emerging artist
When Advaita turned three, Amita got back to work at a private firm as a Business Analyst.
Along with juggling her professional and personal lives, Amita has also taken up the task of spreading awareness about adoption. She is a trustee at Poornank, an organisation committed to educating parents and children about adoption. The support group was started three years ago to guide parents in the adoption journey. They have more than 600 parents, who have adopted children of varied ages.
“Adoption is a beautiful process to complete a family and become a parent,” Sangeeta Banginwar, Founder of Poornank, tells The Better India.
We hold regular counselling sessions for parents who want to adopt, for the ones who are in the process, and for those who have already adopted. It is a good platform to dispel all the myths around adoption and single parenting, she says.
Amita’s life has changed drastically ever since Advaita became a part of it. She wishes to experience this joy again and awaits her second child in October this year. “I do not want Advaita to feel lonely. Having a sibling makes a lot of difference in a child’s life, and I can vouch for it as my sister has been my pillar of strength at every point.”
This time, Amita has chosen an ‘open’ option, meaning the child can be from any of the genders.
Advaita recently celebrated her sixth birthday
When asked what things one should keep in mind before making the decision, Amita says, “Do not go by logic, go by heart. Adoption can change multiple lives. The ride will not be easy, but will definitely be worth it.”
From 1932 to 1995, more than 20,000 dogs were being brutally killed in Chennai alone, every single year.
“Their fragile bodies would be doused in salt water, to be eventually electrocuted to death in the Basin Bridge Lethal Chamber. They were being brutally murdered when all they needed was some love and care,” says Shiranee Pereira, an animal lover and activist.
Shiranee has fought many battles in her quest to make the world more sensitive and inclusive towards animals, and her first major victory was on September 25, 1995, when thanks to her efforts, the barbaric practice of electrocution was finally banned.
Today, after having saved almost millions of lives over the past 26 years, she stands tall as one of the most prominent animal rights activists in India.
She says that her work comes from a place of love and passion for the furry beings.
“I might not have human kids, but I am every bit of a mother to more than 800 beautiful creatures. Every evening, when I go to check on them and tuck them sleep, it is the most emotionally rewarding time of the day for me!”
Owing to this she co-founded the Chennai chapter of People For Animals in 1994, which has since then helped thousands of animals get a new lease of life.
“I was lucky to be born in a family of animal lovers and grew up with 17 cats. My brother would often rescue cats and bring them home while I took care of them. Seeing this, my father even got hold of an abandoned place to transform it into a shelter for them. I feel that this upbringing enriched with the mindset to treat all animals as equals is what shaped me. I am what I am because of my family,” says the scientist, who has managed several strides as a leading researcher at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for more than 20 years.
Animals don’t belong in laboratories
Shiranee mentions that one of the greatest challenges on her path has been to get people to care for animals.
A PhD in aquatic biology, she has dedicated her life looking out for them, not just by providing shelter and care, but by also fighting for their rights. One such focus area of her work includes animals who are often used for laboratory tests.
As a member of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), a statutory body under the Indian government, Shiranee managed to create history by helping in the passing of two national guidelines for the treatment of laboratory animals.
“The first one was released in 2002, for the ethical use of equines in anti-snake venom serum production. India is the only country which has developed guidelines for equines used in the production of immuno-biologicals. The conditions that they are put through is horrifying and unimaginably painful. I remember witnessing one such barbarity inflicted on a pregnant mare, and how she was injected with the serum and bled to death despite her condition. Amid all this blood and pain, she managed to deliver Nickle, who was extremely weak when I adopted him. He was the first horse in my shelter, and since then I have been striving to find alternatives to testing drugs on animals,” Shiranee says.
The second guideline, released in 2014, was focused on limiting the use and reuse of dogs and their rehabilitation.
It was this that prompted the beginning of the groundbreaking initiative, Project D.O.N.T (Dogs are not for Testing) in 2017.
“We are working to augment the precision and prediction of drug or chemical toxicity by replacing the dogs in testing with the power and potential of machine learning and Artificial or Augmented Intelligence. For this, PFA has collaborated with IBM (USA) and Johns Hopkins University, US. After years of struggle, we were finally able to initiate this project in April 2019, and once complete, this has the potential to transform the lives of millions of animals across the world!” she adds.
A home for the condemned
Shiranee’s 3.8 acre PFA campus in Red Hills, Chennai is a place where miracles happen, and they continue to motivate her and the volunteers.
The story of Pepper and Popcorn is one such wonderful example.
While Pepper was an aged ‘condemned’ horse, Popcorn was a six-week-old filly.
“Pepper was born on a farm and trained to be a race-horse. But with age she was pushed out of the racecourse and into a life of condemnation, awaiting to be euthanised like many of her kind. Many horses like her once are rejected from the race, are given to the police department, who in turn abandoned and condemns them to die after a certain age or injury. The practice is deplorable, and PFA is the only animal welfare organisation that has an order from the government stating that these horses can live with us” states the pioneer, who was also responsible for exposing the cruelty in the use of horses in joy rides that evoked a ban from the Home Dept., in their use in Chennai in 2004.
Pepper was among the lucky ones to find her way to this retirement home of sorts, but she was still reserved and cut-off from the other 11 thoroughbreds and 16 rescued ponies, until Popcorn arrived in January.
“Popcorn was extremely traumatised and was refusing to eat. Our volunteers noticed how her arrival had suddenly sparked a new life in Pepper and her constant advances towards the filly, eventually made the child respond to her. Sensing the bond, we instantly brought them together, and what followed was a heartwarming episode of love, where after four days of cajoling Popcorn finally ate and found the strength to survive, while Pepper found another purpose to live!” shared Shiranee.
With more hundreds of dogs, 120 cats, 40 goats, 185 cattle, 16 ponies and 11 thoroughbred horses, Shiranee signs off by saying that thanks to these animals, her home is a ball of happy memories that never fail to inspire and delight every single day.
The word ‘lockdown’ often fuels thoughts of claustrophobia, boredom and most importantly, social disconnection.
But with a functional internet and heaps of groceries, many of us reading this story from the comfort of our homes, are just fine. The lockdown has no doubt caused inconvenience and even financial loss for many of us, yet, it has hardly been a cause of death, rather, in the current circumstances, it is a measure to avert that.
However, we cannot seem to say the same for all the helpless creatures inhabiting the streets—stray animals who have been pushed to the verge of starvation owing to the nationwide shutdown.
So, when the government announced a ‘Janta Curfew’ on 22 March to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, a few of us had one more thing to worry about and began to organise supplies and citizen groups to feed the strays.
Once at 7 AM and then after 9 PM, following the brief relaxation of the government’s call for self-isolation, these individuals hit the deserted streets to feed free-roaming dogs, cats and other animals.
“Due to the lockdown most shops, especially meat and fish shops that serve as a primary source of food for strays, remained closed. We managed to help some strays by feeding them whatever we could gather at the time. But, then the announcement to extend the lockdown was made and that pushed us to start planning for a long-term routine to feed them. Sadly, the way people are, the needs of animals, especially strays, always come last,” says Karishma Chatterjee, a homemaker and resident of Navi Mumbai who has been feeding 10-15 dogs and cats every day in her locality.
Fortunately, she is not alone in this. 21-year-old Sagun Bhatjiwale, a final year veterinary student from Mumbai and secretary of Nature’s Ally Foundation, an NGO dedicated to the welfare of birds, animals and trees, has also been going out of his way to help the strays.
Sagun Bhatjiwale feeding and tending to stray animals
“The lockdown has resulted in decreased animal feeders all around the city. The shutting down of restaurants, eateries and offices has completely stopped leftovers being discarded in garbage bins, which was a major source of food for strays. As a result, they are faced with extreme starvation and dehydration. I could not bear to see the stray animals I love so much, suffer and die and had to help them, no matter what,” he tells TBI.
With the help of a few friends and colleagues, Sagun spread the word and encouraged people to do their bit. Since the lockdown he has been going around in a car from Jogeshwari to Dahisar, feeding an average of 100 to 120 stray dogs and cats every single day.
Bengaluru’s Paul Goswami, an IT professional and an animal rescuer is yet another good samaritan. He has been feeding close to 120 animals daily in the Electronic City area and hopes to expand to the rest of the city.
In Golaghat, Assam, Abhishekh Boney Singha’s NGO, All & Sundry, has launched a statewide campaign named ‘All we need is Love’ to encourage citizens to help out strays.
“I request everyone to leave organic waste like vegetable or fruit peels, biscuits, breads, leftovers (unwrapped), grains, banana leaves, etc., along with a bowl of water in front of their homes, so that stray animals can eat them, without you having to step outside the house,” he appeals.
Abhishekh Boney Singha’s campaign, ‘All We Need Is Love’
More than 100 individuals, from civil service officers, professors to students and kids have participated in the campaign, and feed over 100 stray dogs and cats and around 40 cows, daily.
Pawzz Team
Started by a Gurugram family, Pawzz is a social enterprise that rescues and rehabilitates strays, in addition to providing them with medical assistance.
So, when the Janata curfew was announced on March 22, the Pawzz team began a new mission—the Hunger Project—which has gathered a number of volunteers to care for the innocent stray animals in these distressing times. From local police officials, community gatekeepers to common citizens have come forward to lend a helping hand.
Shivanya Pandey (L). Voluntary feeders helping strays during the lockdown. Source: Pawzz/Facebook (R)
Not only is this family-run organization feeding animals living on the streets but is also spreading awareness to dispel misinformation about COVID-19 being spread through dogs. Owing to these rumours, many dogs have been abandoned, beaten up and even been poisoned in the last few weeks, so their efforts seek to eliminate such gruesome incidents.
Despite the many obstacles caused by short supplies and slow services of e-commerce platforms, the Pawzz team is continuously using all possible avenues including social media to procure supplies and carry on the feeding operations.
“The animals have literally been ecstatic since the time we started to feed them. We have seen a huge number of dogs relocated to other parts due to the scarcity of food and the entry of other dogs in their territory. Irrespective of this, we could see with our own eyes that the animals who stayed behind were at the verge of starvation. We believe we have been able to make a difference as we have been able to unite people to come together and get feeding permits,” says co-founder Vipin Kumar to a publication.
A selfless gesture met with sharp criticism
While the selfless efforts of these citizens have been noteworthy, it has not been devoid of resistance.
Many of them have faced resistance and been accused of flouting government guidelines and even causing harm to public property by feeding and disrupting nature’s way by destroying the primal hunting instincts of animals.
Countering such criticism Paul says, “People who are criticising our work are those who feel animals don’t have any feelings and so can’t experience pain or hunger. The truth, however, is that pain and hunger are universal, and when these two aspects are taken care of by rescuers and feeders, not only are these undomesticated animals able to survive in urban structures but are also more friendly to strangers.”
Elaborating on the challenges, Shivanya Pandey, a 23-year-old resident of Vishrantwadi, Pune, says, “The lack of credible information is the key issue or challenge in the way. I have been feeding at least 30 dogs every day, and people in the nearby societies of my area have even called the police in protest. Although the law is on our side, the lack of on-ground implementation causes challenges. The authorities responsible for upholding those laws need to be aware of them. Animal rights are as important as human rights.”
Shivanya Pandey
Shedding some more light into the source of bitterness and lack of empathy towards the strays, 58-year-old Jacob Thomas, says, “There have been several rumours around the coronavirus epidemic that are causing chaos and panic. One such rumour is that it spreads from domesticated and stray animals like dogs and cats. And, that is why many people have been apprehensive about public feeding of strays. But, I would urge people to get past this barrage of misinformation and read the facts for themselves before believing anything. Even WHO has confirmed that these are just lies, and so we should do everything in our power to help these creatures.”
An assistant manager in an insurance company, a voluntary traffic warden and a proud feeder, Jacob has been bending over backwards to help the strays in several parts of Bengaluru.
“If you can’t help them, then at least don’t hurt. It’s plain kindness, that’s all,” adds Paul.
Is feeding animals during a lockdown allowed?
To all those who think that feeding strays during the lockdown might amount to the flouting government guidelines, here’s an essential piece of information.
To stop the stray animals from becoming unforeseen casualties of coronavirus pandemic, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) on 23 March, issued an advisory letter for all chief secretaries of states and union territories, to ensure that animals and birds do not suffer during the lockdown period.
— Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) March 23, 2020
Emphasising on the crucial work done by the feeders, Dr OP Chaudhary, Director of the AWBI states in the letter, “This is a valuable service consistently provided by compassionate individuals and the absence of it may cause a large number of animals and birds to suffer and die, and carcasses of the dead animals and birds may further spread different diseases amongst community which will be difficult to control.”
“Feed and fodder of large animals and food for companion animals and strays is an essential service and may be kept operational during [the] lockdown,” the letter adds, while encouraging states and UTs to spread awareness about the ‘essential service’ and allot a specific time for volunteers and organisations to provide food and water to strays.
The Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Ministry has also issued similar directives declaring that all state-run veterinary and animal medical treatment institutions will remain functional despite the lockdown.
— Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) March 23, 2020
“It is requested that veterinary hospitals and dispensaries in the state, including private veterinary clinics, veterinary pathologies, animal shelters etc. function in the normal course and the veterinary services be considered in the list of ‘Essential Services’,” the directive states.
Coming forward in support of animal rescuers and feeders, former Women and Child Minister Maneka Gandhi tweeted thus:
“Street dogs, cows, and birds can neither get nor give coronavirus to humans. However, in the event of a lockdown, if they are not fed, many will die, creating another kind of a problem.
I have requested all animal welfare workers to feed the animals during this period of a lockdown. I will be doing the same. Please allow them to do so. If there is any problem, please contact me on 08800067890. pic.twitter.com/P7yvoZCuYJ
— Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) March 23, 2020
I have requested all animal welfare workers to feed the animals during this period of a lockdown. I will be doing the same. Please allow them to do so. If there is any problem, please contact me on 08800067890,” she added.
Help will come when your intentions are good, says Sagun who suggests that citizens do the bare minimum of feeding how much ever they can during this lockdown period.
“To see the stray dogs, many of them who are new mothers with their litter of pups, gobble up food in a matter of seconds out of sheer starvation was overwhelming. With a small bowl of water or food and even leftovers, you are saving a life. Nothing can be nobler than that,” he adds.
But, make sure you take all the needed safety precautions like wearing gloves, masks, shoes etc. while out for feeding.
For more information and assistance on the same, you can even join this WhatsApp group that is helping citizens become lifesavers.
Dogs, irrespective of shape, size or breed can melt most hearts in a matter of seconds. Built on love and helped along by round innocent eyes and playful nature, the relationships that humans share with these four-legged creatures is nothing short of precious. The feelings are pretty similar in India as well, with praise for a dog’s character even present in some of our oldest stories.
However, in the modern age, there is a general lack of awareness or preference for Indian dog breeds and a puzzling preference for foreign ones.
“More than bad, it is quite pathetic because people often just equate all Indian dogs under one banner of indies, or strays which is not true. And while doing so, they are also underestimating the potential and beauty of an indie dog or stray. This sadly, stems from the idea whereby dogs are bought for the show, not for love,” says Rajeev Kumar, Pune-based pet-parent and co-founder of pet startup called PetYo.
Through his organisation, Rajeev has been trying to spread more awareness about Indian breed dogs, some of which are even pedigree breeds with various potentials. He aims to educate people that in terms of capacity, our Indian breeds are no less than the foreign breeds.
And this point found prominence, recently during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly Mann ki Baat radio address on Sunday, where he encouraged Indians to adopt Indian breeds if planning for pets.
“I have been told that Indian breed dogs are very good and capable. Among the Indian breeds, Mudhol hound and Himachali hound are of excellent pedigree. Rajapalayam, Kanni, Chippiparai and Combai are also fabulous Indian breeds. They cost less to raise and are better adapted to the Indian environment and surroundings,” he said.
While this is not new information, the lack of awareness influencing the demand for these breeds had not only reduced sale or adoption of Indian breed dogs but had also hindered many breeders from continuing the legacy.
“Owing to this, even pedigree Indian dogs would be abandoned and now they are quite rare. Additionally, because of limited knowledge and less awareness, these beautiful dogs were not getting loving homes,” says Chennai-based Kamanan Yadhav, a licensed breeder who specializes in the Rajapalayam breed of dogs.
Due to neglect or poor breeding conditions because of limited demand, over the years these breeds have suffered a steep decline in their population. But, Madurai-based Krishnan Ramanan, a fourth-generation owner of Delkrisline kennels that trains Combai and Rajapalayam breeds for competitions, feels that spreading more awareness through social media and now the mention by PM Modi, can help in changing the situation.
Here’s a list of striking lesser-known swadeshi breeds you should consider next time when planning a pet.
Believed to have originated in South India, specifically Tamil Nadu, the royal Rajapalayam breed is named after the state’s Rajapalayam city of Virudhunagar district and was historically used to guard palaces and even fight wars.
Lean, muscular with a thin white coat, these dogs were often used as hound dogs and have been recorded in history for being trained to fight alongside soldiers in Polygar and Carnatic wars against the East India Company from during 1799 to 1805. Owing to this they are also known as Polygar hounds.
An ancient breed of working dogs, found throughout the Pir Panjal range in the Himalayas, was historically domesticated by Bakarwal and Gujjar nomadic tribes, as livestock guardian dogs. These days they are also trained as militant dogs for law enforcement bodies in the country.
Heavy built, strong with a fluffy coat, Bakarwal dogs are majestic and are well-suited in the colder parts of India.
Known as the Indian Mastiff, this breed of large working dogs originates from the 16th century, in the Indian subcontinent. Similar to a bulldog, this muscular breed of dogs is mostly trained in hunting and patrol, it is commonly found across Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.
Historically, this is another dog that was commonly domesticated by the royals, even in Thanjavur. Some reports even mention that the Mughal emperor Akbar once had a Bully Kutta who would often accompany him during hunting trips.
Found in parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra, the Mudhol Hound is known for its elegant gait and sharp muscular appearance. Named after an erstwhile princely state Mudhon that was once a part of Bombay Presidency in British India, this dog is said to be bred by the 17th century Maratha king, Chhatrapati Shivaji, to be used in his army.
Bred from a strain of the Caravan Hound, these slender and sleek hunting dogs were reportedly presented by King Malojirao Ghorpade of Mudhol to King George V of England during his visit to the United Kingdom. It was at the time that the English King christened the dogs as the ‘Hounds of Mudhol’.
A sighthound breed, Chippiparai, or kanni (which means pure) is a breed from Tamil Nadu known for its fierce loyalty and hunting prowess. Since the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, these grey-hound lookalikes are now used as guard dogs.
Like Mudhol and Rajapalayam, these dogs were also bred by royal families of Tirunelveli and Madurai in Chippiparai, Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu.
Also known as Himachali hounds or mastiff, Gaddi Kutta dogs are large and extremely fluffy, owing to their native region being parts of the western Himalayas and parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Although originally bred as hunting dogs, they are now widely used by local shepherds, a South Asian tribe called the Gaddis, for protection.
This breed is heavy-built, thick fur and size equips this mastiff to not only survive extreme climate conditions but also deflect attacks from wild animals around, especially as guard dogs for livestock.
Originating in the hilly regions of Western Ghats, Combais are known for their perseverance and loyalty. Although lack of awareness and demand for domestication has pushed it to the brink of extinction like Rajapalayam and other rare breeds, Combai dogs are extremely intelligent, sharp and powerful.
Excellent as guard dogs, this breed of tan-coloured dogs is known to be energetic, fierce and equally friendly. Like other rare breeds in the region, they were also historically used for boar hunting and guarding needs. Recently, the CRPF recruited Combai dogs for their Dog Breeding and Training School.
Fierce and powerful, this dog breed from Uttarakhand is considered to be one of India’s most prized home guardians. Originally known to guard and protect livestock of villagers in the hilly areas of Kumaon, this breed is also at the verge of extinction, and that only a few hundred of them continue to exist today.
Muscular with a short and soft coat and a thick neck, Kumaon Mastiffs’ appearance is quite similar to that of old Great Danes.
A rare short-fur breed of dogs that originated in Himachal Pradesh, Vikhan dogs are usually bred to guard livestock. Known to be fearless and courageous they are extremely fast and are said to run as fast as leopards.
Owing to their luxuriant coats, these dogs are also compared to the breed of Giant Rough Collies from Scotland.
Another ancient hunting dog found in Andhra Pradesh, this breed originated in the Pattikonda taluk of the Kurnool district. A medium-sized hound well-suited to harsh climate conditions, this breed was commonly domesticated by shepherd families as a guard dog.
Known for their protective instincts and intelligence, Pandikona dogs are extremely courageous and friendly all at the same time, making them one of the best options for watchdogs.
While most of these breeds are dwindling in numbers, ethical breeders and conservationists like Krishnan Ramanan are making efforts to revive them.
“For us this is not a business, it is our passion. We love dogs and hate to see these breeds being denied happy homes or human companions because of lack of awareness. But things have started to change since 2015, especially in South India, owing to the debate that roused around the Jallikattu controversy. More dog lovers are now looking to adopt or buy native breeds and are willing to educate themselves more. It is a dream for people like us who have dedicated their lives to the conservation of these breeds,” says Ramanan.
While many of us are shifting from using plastic bags to carrying cloth or paper bags, these eco-friendly alternatives come with a drawback. They’re difficult to use when carrying fish, milk packets, and other damp items.
Dhananjay Hegde from Karwar in Karnataka also faced a similar problem.
“The state banned plastic bags in 2016, and many businesses opted for alternatives and even switched to using non-woven bags. But these bags are made from polypropylene and polyester, a form of plastic, and circulated in the market under the garb of being eco-friendly,” Dhananjay, a retired mechanical engineer, tells The Better India.
Dhananjay says that another peculiar issue he observed after the ban was that fish and meat sellers continued using plastic bags. “It is unfeasible to carry such food items in a paper or cloth bag, and there are no helpful alternatives. Moreover, paper bags cannot carry items weighing more than half a kilo,” he adds.
So Dhananjay has conceived bags made from newspaper using unique stitching techniques and corn powder that carry weight up to 10 kilos, do not leak, easily hold the meat and other damp items without clogging it. He has also built a machine to make the product commercially viable.
A bag with multiple benefits
Front and back end of the machine created by Dhananjay Hegde.
Dhananjay says he wanted to make a bag that was strong and durable. “I decided to use scrap newspapers for the task and tried to reinforce a double sheet paper by adding stitches with the banana plant fibre. The material is eco-friendly and available locally,” he explains.
He adds that later, he decided to double the stitching inside the first at a gap of 1 cm. “The added strength allowed the bag to carry weight up to 5-10 kilos. But it could still not carry items with wet surfaces. When I tried, the paper clogged as it came in contact with liquid substances,” he says.
Dhananjay then decided to add a protective layer to the bag. “I researched for environment-friendly and natural materials and found that corn resin or gum could act as a layer to waterproof the paper bags,” he says.
He adds that he succeeded after a few experiments. “The gum prevented the water from coming in contact with the paper and held liquids without allowing any penetration in the layer,” he says.
To test his prototype, Dhananjay started carrying it to his office. “I used it almost daily, and many colleagues in the office inquired about it. I made some for them, and they used them to carry fish. Moreover, the bag costs Rs 2, as against Rs 5 or Rs 10 cloth bags in the market,” he says.
He added a layer of white paper to prevent toxic chemicals from newspapers from touching the corn starch layer and food.
To make the bags commercially viable, Dhananjay roped in his friend Dattatreya Bhatt to conceive a prototype device that can roll out multiple bags.
The paper bag can hold up to 10 kilos of weight.
“We made the device using PVC pipes and pre-fabricated steel structures. The aim behind building a machine was to create dimensionally accurate and durable bags,” Dhananjay says, adding that he implemented the principles used in cloth weaving machines to blend with his unique pressing technique.
“A weaving machine can cost between Rs 15 and Rs 20 lakh, but our machine works on manual inputs producing ready paper for the bag for Rs 1.5 lakh. It can produce stitched paper rolls to make 300 small bags per day, but can vary depending on the user,” Dhananjay says, adding the rolled out stitched paper can easily fold into a bag.
He notes that 35 businesses have approached him to commercialise the bags. “I am ready to install the machine for free for commercial entities or people who wish to explore employment opportunities. I have identified an additional ten products that can be made similarly, including paper plates and other single-use items. We are working towards developing an improved model for the same,” he adds.
“I am glad that the innovation has worked and has the potential to generate employment and address the environmental crisis,” he says.
Owing to her father’s transferable job, Mriidu Khosla (38), an independent filmmaker based out of Mumbai, had switched 11 schools by the time she went to university.
“I’d say it was a culturally-confusing childhood. It was hard for me to make friends, but one thing that kept me going was being onstage. Whether it was writing or performing, art was the only way I could express myself. My parents, though, were conservative and asked me to take up electronics engineering; those four years weren’t the finest of my life. I felt trapped and would skip my classes to attend theatre festivals and workshops instead,” she says.
Following her graduation from Mumbai University in 2005, Mriidu managed to convince her parents to let her pursue a masters degree in filmmaking from the New York Institute of Technology. It was here that she worked her first job on the production team of Literary Living, a TV show that aired on the now-defunct Black Family Channel.
Besides being starry-eyed in the city that finally let her explore a career she was passionate about, what caught her eye was the dignity with which animals were treated here — a stark contrast to the apathy she’d witnessed in India.
“It was just so real and kind. I ended up visiting a lot of shelter homes and spoke to staffers about the animal abuse cases they took in. So many of them were struggling, but they never made it sound difficult. They were happy to be part of a larger mission,” she notes.
Back to Mumbai after her three-year visa expired, Mriidu was inspired to adopt her first pet in 2008 — a five-year-old stray cat with a hernia. “Maximus was hit by a stick or kicked in the stomach — the veterinarian said it was a case of animal cruelty. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it through her surgery. The loss was too much to fathom, but it made me realise that there are too many felines who are not only prone to being abused but also left to fend for themselves on the street,” she adds.
So in 2010, when Mridu founded Zycpher — a creative agency that creates digital content and films for e-commerce platforms and fashion brands — its workspace also served as a home to scores of abandoned felines in the city.
It was only in 2015, however, that she co-founded the Cat Café Studio, with her sister Charu Khosla (36) and Jason Moss (35), a batchmate and friend from her NIT days, as a social enterprise to exclusively cater to their needs. Over the past decade, she says, the trio has not only been able to find new homes for more than 2,000 rescued cats but also helped provide medical assistance to over 10,000 of them.
A Paradise for Cats
Located on the ground floor of a one-storey bungalow in Aram Nagar, Versova, the Cat Café Studio offers its visitors a tasteful selection of beverages and snacks with the opportunity to interact with Tao, Otis, Sourdough, Tikka, Noor, Daze, Krispy and Nugget — a few of their 30 resident cats.
Unlike other animal cafés though, people can give these felines a permanent home.
“The dining area is your typical coffee shop, frequented by a lot of writers, journalists and artists who like to work out of here. But when they buy a cake or a milkshake at Cat Café Studio, they know it’s going towards a good cause. Besides sustaining operations, all proceeds from our sales go towards sponsoring the food, medication and surgeries for our resident cats,” Mriidu tells The Better India.
The separated cat ‘paradise’ section, as Mriidu calls it, has low-level seating to enable better interaction between visitors and the playful felines. It was only in September last year that the Café resumed its operations after being shut for 15 months in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, visits to the cat area have been chargeable by the hour, at Rs 200 per person.
“These funds go a long way in ensuring our cats get the care they deserve. We do have a few kittens, but our focus has always been on housing senior and vulnerable cats with special needs, whether that involves physical disabilities, blindness or trauma-induced behavioural issues. They can’t go back to living on the streets, and you’ll realise why when you come here to interact with them,” she adds.
Mriidu points out that for the same reason, the adoption process at the Cat Café studio is longer and stricter than most animal-welfare organisations.
“We have two adoption counsellors who fill in visitors about a particular cat’s medical history. They’re encouraged to spend as much time with the cats as possible. In fact, the more questions they ask us, the keener we are on seeing them as potential adopters,” she explains. “We go the extra mile to ensure that they’re ready to commit for at least 15 years, and what would happen in case they get married or transfer to another city. Only when we’re assured that they know they’re adding another member to the family, do we let the cats go.”
“When it comes to our country, the myths around felines are very harsh. So while Cat Café Studio primarily serves as an adoption centre, we also wanted to create a space where people could simply discover what fascinating creatures they are. Our main objective has always been to project them in a positive light. Even when they’re jumping about and scratching you, it’s not like they’re trying to attack you, this is just how they are!” she says.
Mriidu Khosla, Charu Khosla and Jason Moss.
Making a Difference
Mriidu says when Charu finished a degree in dentistry from Bapuji Dental College and Hospital, Davangere, in 2011, she wasn’t keen on establishing her practice. The same year, she decided to join her sister as a producer at Zcypher, helping expand its operations from just being a film division to fulfilling photography and design projects. A year later, Jason had also moved to India and joined their team as a cinematographer.
In the past couple of years, Zcypher has built an impressive clientele across various segments, including the likes of Amazon, Tata Cliq, Pantaloons Fabindia, Kay Beaty, GQ and Vogue. But when the trio first started working out of a small studio a decade ago, what set them apart was their collective passion for animals that led them to shelter vulnerable stray cats in Aram Nagar.
“We also fed and took care of dogs in the area, but cats were much easier to accommodate in the limited space we had. We were quite aggressive at the time and constantly got into fights with people who’d throw stones at strays. Some others would spot an injured one but just went about their business. Jason was especially appalled but we never thought that he was trying to say bad things about our country. He was right — here were animals in distress and there was a prominent lack of observation. It made me realise how blinded we can be as a community,” shares Mriidu.
“We were not scared to pick up serious cases where a cat had just been run over and probably had no chances of survival. Amidst our work at Zycpher, we would continually learn about the treatments they needed and give them medication. Charu could help because of her medical background and Jason, too, knew a lot because his mother was a nurse,” she says.
“We started putting out leads on Zcypher social media accounts and interacting with animal feeders and NGOs in the city. Eventually, people started showing up for adoptions. We made a dedicated cat space out of our studio’s terrace and started serving them tea and coffee. My mother also brought in cakes and pastries she’d baked herself. We did it to get people to spend more time with our cats, but it was a good way to impress any potential adopters,” she adds with a laugh.
But the trio soon realised that to ensure the sustenance of their efforts, they needed to establish a separate entity to streamline the adoption process. In 2015, they branded the Cat Café Studio after renting and redesigning a bungalow in the same neighbourhood. Zycpher, too, functions out of the bungalow’s top floor.
“We couldn’t indefinitely rely on Zcypher’s profits to take care of the cats, but another reason why we moved out was that we wanted to create a holistic environment for adoption. At the Cat Café Studio, people understand the felines’ distinctive personalities and make a decision only after they feel connected with them,” she says.
Even as revenue from the Café’s sales helped a great deal in sponsoring the requirements of these cats, says Mriidu, the trio also wanted to set up a dedicated facility that would offer affordable medical assistance to strays across Mumbai.
“The smallest of check-ups at a private veterinary clinic cost at least Rs 500. A lot of the rescued cats were brought to us by people living in chawls and slums, and they definitely can’t keep up with such expenses,” she notes.
Soon after they turned to external funding, the trio received a Rs 9 lakh donation from the Macquarie Group and set up their NGO unit, The Feline Foundation in 2017.
“During our early days, we had got quite close to Dr Hitesh Swali, a veterinarian who ended up heading our medical operations at the Feline Foundation. It took us two years to set up a community clinic in another nearby bungalow, but we now offer consultations and treatments for as low as Rs 150,” she says.
Mriidu points out that the Cat Café Studio is often mistaken to be an NGO, but it only houses rescues from The Feline Foundation. “It’s the veterinarians’ call to determine whether or not the cats are fit enough to go back onto the streets. But if not, they find a home with us,” she says.
Presently, the community clinic at The Feline Foundation has three full-time veterinarians and two veterinarian assistants who not only provide deworming and sterilisation surgeries but also enable the hospitalization of critical cats for as low as Rs 250 per day.
“Our sterilisations are priced at Rs 1,800 for male cats and Rs 2,500 for female cats. This is much lower than procedures at private clinics, which cost up to Rs 12,000. We also have a dedicated ward where people can leave their cats for up to a week after,” she says, adding that the clinic recently crossed 6,000 sterilization surgeries.
“The whole idea was that now a person can even walk with 10 cats and not worry about going broke. What’s more, if you come in with a cat that is in bad shape or even dying, and don’t have a single penny for their treatment, we fundraise the procedural costs on Ketto for you. It might be as small an amount as Rs 7,000, but we’ve met our goals every single time,” she says, adding, “So far, we’ve received funds from all over India. We’ve also received the donations of anaesthesia gas, an X-ray machine and an incubator, which play a crucial role while attending to critical cases.”
Mriidu’s film 32 White (2019), a documentary drama exploring the high suicide rates of dentistry students in India, was received well at international film festivals. She’s presently focusing on funding and releasing her pet project Feeders, a documentary on the hardships faced by women who feed thousands of stray animals across the country.
“Animal feeders played a huge role in helping out with our rescues and treatments. Our team, too, has a long way to go, not just in terms of hopefully opening more adoption centres, but helping change the general perception of animal welfare in the country,” she notes. “For some reason, fighting for animals [rights] takes the lowest precedence, but a lot of people want to help out and don’t know where to get started. I know we can create a much larger difference with collective, well-thought systems.”
